Queen's Awakening

Is It Christmas

Nikki's POV

We sit together in the living room drinking coffee. Yennefer and Courtney are in the kitchen. The cubs play at our feet with their new toys. Leica and Houdini play happily with them. I guess it's fun for them to have children who turn into puppies. The highlight of the gifts were the different colored tennis balls. Who would have thought. I laugh as they play fetch with each other. I wish Nicole was still out here, but she returned to our bedroom after she watched the cubs open their gifts. She feels she hasn't spent enough time with her newborn cubs. Jason told me normally she would stay wolf for the first week and most of the first month. The cubs shift when she does. Shifting takes energy they need to grow. She's worried but the circumstances haven't been normal.

"Nikki would you take this food to Nicole?" Yennefer asks.

"Sure," I grin. It was an excuse to check on her and the babies. I take the plate and head straight to the bedroom. Nicole raises her head and oofs

"Hi."

"Are you going to shift to eat?" I ask.

"No they're tired. It takes energy to shift." She hum softly.

"Are they ok?" I ask worried.

"Yes, I'm using my gift of healing to give them energy from my own reserves. I am very hungry though." She hums and yips, eyeing the food.

"Yes of course." I grin and place the plate in front of her. She dives right in.

"Oh this is good," she groans around each bite.
"I'll let Courtney know about your appreciation." I chuckle and stroke her wolf fur.

"Yes let her know. Oh I like that too, your fingers are so dexterous." She sighs.

"Maybe I should shift and show you how dexterous my tongue is?" I smirk. Her honey colored eyes nearly cross at the thought making me laugh. I kiss her muzzle. I excuse myself before I steal her away from our cubs and we get into trouble doing some wolf style 69.

Yennefer catches my dirty thoughts as I hand back the plate to her to wash.

"Oh I wouldn't mind some of that either." She giggles and winks at me.

"You don't need him Yen. I'm sure I can do it better." Tom smirks.

"I don't know Tom. I just might be the best." Jason joins in the teasing.

"Don't you wolves think of anything else besides sex?" Courtney huffs.

"Yes food, is it time to eat?" Tom chuckles.

"Yes," she laughs and rolls her eyes.

We head to the table with the cubs eagerly following. Little Tom in the lead. Father like son he definitely likes food. We settle around the table. Jason says his usual prayer to God and Lady Moon. Then we enjoy a very amazing family meal and try to forget for a time what tomorrow may bring.

Shamus's POV

The girls loved their monster hunter barbies. They've been playing with them all morning. I'm glad the woman liked the necklace. I thought she was gonna cry. Damn didn't that boy ever get her anything. I always brought something pretty home to my wife, Sigh. Rachel made a real good breakfast and everyone liked that. Probably tired of my sorry cooking. Now my sons are out practicing with their new handguns. I sit on the couch going through my Mama's notebooks. My plans went to hell. I was supposed to kill her, berserk the males, and use her young to lure them into a trap. We would have had the high ground. It would have made the kills easy. Then I couldn't do it, I couldn't kill her. My father would have been ashamed. He would have let me know I was going soft. It makes me sick to think of the things I did by his side. The women and children were not the berserkers that killed my wife and daughter. How could I have ever thought it was ok to kill their babies. After helping her babies come into the world. They reminded me of my newborns. I will never hurt their young again. What I did to their Queen, to Nicole. Genny would be so ashamed of me. I bury my face in my hands. I suck it up and start reading my Mama's notes. I'm reading through the family trees out of curiosity. They are kept meticulously. The hunters are a somewhat closed community. They don't want marriages of two closely related people. The seven families have intermarried. Not so much anymore, but it still happens. I didn't realize Genny was my sixth cousin till after we were married. I have to admit, it's hard to convince a woman to join our lifestyle. I trace from me to my mom's family. Glen lost all five of his children in the battles with the shifters all he has left is a grandson and granddaughter. I can't imagine his pain. I find my Grandfather Jasper and Casper Adams his twin brother. Their father Edward Adams. There is a notation next to his wife Vivian's name. I look for it's meaning in her notes. Homo canis lupus, she was a wolf shifter. I'm freaked. I keep going up the family tree and find the notations every forth or fifth generation. I check the other families of the seven. It's the same. We're all X-hybrids. It makes sense all of our heightened senses. I grow angry, all the lies we've been told. I'm one of things I hunt. I cringe. I place the evidence back in my mother's trunk. I try to control my anger, but I explode. I rip the teeth necklace from my neck and race out the door slamming it behind me. My brother stops me before I reach my uncle.

"Shamus you need to get your family and get out of here." He says with a smirk.

"Why?," I ask still seething.

"Because our brother Roy is going to do what you failed to do. Take out the queen bitch." He answers snidely.

"No! You will bring over 200 wolf berserkers down on us." I shake him.

"Only the ones still here mainly Adams and his two lieutenant's families. Of course their flunkies. The other four families and us are bouncing. Cooke ordered it. Now hurry Shamus." He says.

"I got to get my boys." I tell him and jog away.

As soon as I'm around the corner. I run to warn my Uncle. I bust into his office out of breath. He sits with his grandson, Standish, and Alden.

"Glen you've been betrayed. Cooke has ordered my brother to assassinate the wolf queen. They are leaving you and your families to die." I blurt out. There is a moment of shock on his face. Then he's in control again.

"Shamus see if you can stop the fool. I'll handle my trader council members." He growls his grey eyes have a silver shine.

I catch my son and tell him to get the woman and children in the under ground bunker. I run to my truck and speed off to try to stop my youngest brother.

I find him in my favorite observation spot. I climb up. He's sighting on Nicole through her bedroom window.

"Roy you don't want to do this." I whisper. He ignores me. His fingers on the trigger. "Fine we do this the hard way." I grab at the riffle, but he tries for the shot anyway. The riffle goes off shattering the peaceful day. I grab his head and smack it against the tree knocking him out. My heart is in my throat as I look through the site to see the damage. Nicole is wrapped protectively around her cubs. I can't tell if anyone is hurt. Males are coming outside they are shifting

"Stupid asshole." I mumble. Dragging my brother over my shoulder. I climb down and race for my truck. I have to warn them what's coming. You can't grab the wolf by its tail and not expect the teeth.

Nikki's POV

Hearing the gunshot we all race to the bedroom. I'm first through the door.

"Nicole," I whisper. She's curled protectively around her cubs. Her eyes glow with rage. We approach her slowly trying to soothe her. She is full of confusion. Is she Mother or Queen? She decides she is Luna. Courtney shifts and takes Nicole's place curled around the cubs. My co-mates and I shift and follow her outside. Over two hundred wolves are waiting for her command. I can hear her quick orders to those who will remain. Then we the one hundred chosen follow her into the wilderness.